Monday, February 13, 2012

Most of my days follow the same basic pattern: work, write, etc. Today was rather different, as I spent it with my brother at a funeral home, a bank, and a church. All the people we encountered were helpful and very nice, and we made real progress, but I found it all exhausting. I suppose everyone does.

Because I lived far from her, my mom existed primarily for me on the phone and in my head. I can't call her any longer, but she's still in my head, as she always will be. As I meet more people she touched, I learn with a certain bit of pride in her that she's in the heads of far more people than I had ever realized.

I don't expect anyone reading this to attend a memorial service for her, but I've had so many requests for information about the service that I'm putting it here.

This Friday, February 17, 2012, at the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, a reception, with the family greeting guests, will start at 11:00 a.m. A memorial service will follow immediately at noon. Should anyone feel inclined to send flowers or some such thing, Mom asked instead for donations to the Student Scholarship Fund of the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg.

Now, because Mom's all over my thoughts, I thought I'd share a Mom Fun Fact. Like me, she very much enjoyed the silly movie, Bandits. She was particularly fond of the strange tics of Billy Bob Thornton's character, such as the line he utters at the end of this short scene.

My favorite scene in the film is the one in which this lovely Pete Yorn song plays.

You know, it's always hard to remember that your mom was once the girl someone loved, the woman who made the hearts of multiple men sing, the one who loved fiercely and was fiercely loved, but I think it's good to remember those facts, at least on occasion, at least on this occasion.